Thursday, April 30, 2009
Final Source Statement
It feels really good for my final project to come to a close. As I sewed on each piece I grew more and more proud of my latest artist book. The different fabrics don’t exactly match but they do have some similar colors. I arranged them in such a way to create a flow between all of the parts. I feel that I executed my intentions with this piece quite successfully. The photos really display my feelings on what I would like my son to enjoy as he grows. The placement of each photo isn’t arbitrary like I originally would’ve done. The piece is soft and comfortable and actually fits my son. I have impressed myself with this piece in learning how to sew with little guidance. I measured an existing outfit and made my own patterns, also for the first time. There were a few kinks in the seams of the final form that occurred due to my unfamiliarity with using a sewing machine that I unstitched and fixed by hand-sewing. I like the fact that I hand sewed the photographs instead of machine sewing everything. This gave my piece the same personal feeling that my previous fabric artist book possessed. I decided to fasten the front together by using the snaps, but added a new element that gave the ‘reinforcement’ a new depth of meaning. I used the shape of a peace sign, a heart, and a smiley face. These things are a large part of my being and way of life. I use these three symbols in my signature as a last input of information that I pass onto others. I try to live by these words, and I am a calmer person because of it. I have learned to think, speak, and create comfort this semester and I am walking away with some great projects that will bring me comfort for years to come.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Picture Placement
other is Seth’s dog, Jeep. These photos are placed so because Dodge pets these animals with his hands. The placement also represents the ‘wearing on the sleeve’ type of closeness that Dodge will someday feel for these pets as Seth and I do.
The two pictures at the top on the front are linked in a few ways. They both describe how being outside in the world gives a sense of freedom. They take place in warm, bright settings and depict relaxing things. I love to sight-see while riding fast in our trucks as well as lay on the beach and take in the atmosphere. These pictures are placed closest to his head because thee also both represent the ‘at peace’ state of mind that we would like to rub off on Dodge as he grows.
Love is a very important dimension of comfort. There are two photos of Seth and I also placed on the front of the outfit. We want to surround Dodge with love and also express to him that we love each other. It is very important for him to understand that love gets you so far in life and trusting in those that you love will bring you happiness.
There is a picture on the bottom of either foot one of me and one of Seth. These pictures are from when Seth and I first met and were our own selves. We knew who we were and we knew what we wanted. The purpose of the placement of these pictures is to symbolize the roots of where Dodge comes from. The two single human beings who combine to create this new one.
On the back of the outfit there are photos of machines. Another fun thing that Dodge will inherit is a close proximity to heavy machinery and other big toys of that nature. Seth works on the commuter rail and has a passion for trains and other machines of similar size and strength. Showing Dodge these aspects of our lives will also show him the reality that if you have a passion in life then it is never out of your grasp. Seth has loved trains ever since he laid eyes on them. He wiggled his way into the locomotive field and now works with them every day. He also works for friends on the side when he’s needed with heavy machinery which he has also always loved.
On the back of the legs are two photos of Dodge in utero. One is an ultrasound and the other is my pregnant belly. These photos are placed on the legs to represent where Dodge has been and what is behind him and also the journey that he has taken in coming into our lives.Friday, April 24, 2009
Champ One Minute
My dog is one of the aspects that give me comfort. Not the best footage I caught, but the longest.
Dodge and Seth One Minute Clip
This clip is one of the aspects I focused on in shooting my video. I wanted to portray the bond between Seth and our son Dodge
Thursday, April 23, 2009
New Source Statement
I feel that I’m succeeding in creating a piece that emanates comfort. The images I am including enforce the warm and joyful feel that Seth and I try to convey to our son about the way we live and the activities we choose to do. The fabrics also reflect the comfortable nature that we surround him with on a daily basis. The sequence of the piece is circular in the way that the viewer has to walk around the piece in order to view the entire thing. This works for my source because I’ve evolved my thinking into how Seth and I surround our son with comfort. The photographs portray events and moments which give Seth and I comfort. The onesie is symbolic because it represents Dodge and how the events that occur with Seth and I and the feelings that we possess make up our son and are each a part of his whole.
Progress
Due to difficulties in construction, I’ve decided that using snaps would be more appropriate than a zipper. The zipper would most likely buckle the already complicated fabric pieces. To prevent this disaster, I’ve decided to hand sew snaps onto the final piece. This would also help because the fabric sewn together will be thicker and far more difficult to sew on top of.
Constructing the ‘trial’ outfit has proved more successful than I originally thought. Considering my time limit, I’ve reconsidered my original plans. I would like to scratch the idea of making a trial outfit and taking what I learned from it and using that on the final. Since it took me the better part of a week to construct the form of the outfit and I only have one week to complete the piece, I am going to work on top of the form I created this week while learning to sew. This way I can put all of my effort into executing all of the ideas that I set out to include.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Sewing on my own
So I learned very quickly the importance of turning the fabric a few degrees after about every 5 to 7 stitches when trying to achieve a curve in the fabric. This method proved to be very successful, and made everything pretty easy to figure out how to sew once I overcame this challenge. The majority of the rest of the stitches are straight lines. My mom showed me that you sew things inside out and then flip them right side out to hide the seams. I have to think about how things will attach in the inside and decide in which order I will sew them before I sew them. Since there are a lot of pieces to this garment, premeditating takes a big part in my plan of action. I took some engineering classes in high school so I already understood the idea of leaving tabs around the shape that is desired for the final product. I took a onesie that I had of Dodge’s and used it as a measuring template. I thought about each section as a 2D element that I could sew in such a way to form this 3D piece. I measured the dimensions of each piece and added about a quarter of an inch or sew to accommodate the growth of Dodge upon the completion of the piece. I drew out my pattern of the back first. Then I decided where I want a zipper or snaps to go down the front in a diagonal fashion. I took the pattern from the back and drew a line through it to create the front pattern pieces, but added about a half an inch on both of these pieces for seams. Then I drew out the pattern for an arm and for the top and bottom pieces for the feet. I cut out all of the fabric pieces using these patterns. As I sewed the back piece to the front pieces I realized that there is a piece I didn’t make a pattern for: the semicircle shaped piece that makes enough room for the bum of the baby. I refer to this piece as the butt flap for lack of a better term. I measured this piece from my template and cut that piece out of my fabric. I knew that piece would be the toughest to attach, so I tackled it right then. Since this piece was really wide and the section I was sewing it to was narrow I began sewing in the center. I went in reverse about seven stitches then turned the fabric about five degrees. I repeated this process while aligning the two pieces of fabric until I reached the end. Then I went forward back to the middle and repeated the process in the other direction. I felt extremely proud of myself when I completed sewing this piece because I basically taught myself how to taper edges on my own. My mom was extremely impressed but she knows that I’m a fast learner. I know my engingeering classes really helped me out in taking the basics I was taught and running with them. Now that I know how to sew I pretty much want to do it all the time J
Friday, April 17, 2009
Rough Pattern Sketch for Trial
So I took a onesie that fits my son now and drew a rough pattern that in theory, should work. I added a quarter of an inch to all of the measurements (plus the excess for seams) because this project is going to be finished in a few weeks and my son might grow in that time. I’m now going to test this in trial fabric to see how close or far off I am from actually crafting a wearable outfit.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Surround Me With Comfort
Comfort is something that you can’t see but have to feel. Being able to portray this feeling has been challenging for me in many steps along the way to this final project. Somehow I’ve managed to make a book ‘comfortable.’ It’s equally surprising to me that I have created comfortable audio and video as well. I especially enjoyed the physical crafting portion of the course. This has lead me to decide on creating a new take on an artists book for this piece. Letting the viewer feel the fabrics which I choose in creating the piece adds another dimension to my art that I would like to continue to explore. There is some sort of excitement in being able to touch art that is usually off limits.
The idea that is most suiting for me to execute for this project is the fabric patchwork ‘open book.’ The form this artist book will take on is a soft onesie outfit for my son. The physical feel of comfort of the piece will directly portray the feelings that our son gives Seth and I.
The imagery I am going to include are vivid and warm photographs. My intent is to create a natural and happy feeling from this imagery that would portray the comfortable environment that Seth and I will bring our son up in. Also, these photos will represent the ways of life we will instill in our son such as: live hard, love deep and regret nothing.
Based upon my new knowledge of sewing with a machine, I believe it’s more plausible to redesign my ideal project and make it less complex. It is, of course, possible to execute my original idea, but it would take a person with a lot more experience a lot more time than I am or have. I will still use the sewing machine to sew my large fabric parts to make a whole garment. But I will have to compromise using the machine to apply all of the patchwork. Some things I will attach using the machine, but I will have to use fabric glue to attach some of my smaller desired patchwork pieces.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Photograph Examples for Final Project
My final project is going to be Proposal #2: a onesie for my son. Some of the photographs I’m going to use will encompass the free spirit that Seth and I would like to instill on our son. These photos will include such things as: the beach, spearfishing, driving fast, shooting, laughing, kissing, etc. Various other things that will be depicted are aspects of our lives that will mold what our son will become. These things include: our dogs, our loves (i.e. heavy machinery), trains, making art, etc.
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